by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
August 3, 2022
The man responsible for overseeing the A’s efforts in the amateur draft is scouting director Eric Kubota. Kubota started out his career in the baseball world by interning for the A’s in the mid-‘80s, and he eventually served as the assistant director of scouting and the supervisor of international scouting before succeeding Grady Fuson as scouting director following Fuson’s departure after the 2001 season.
In past years, we’ve talked with Kubota about top picks like Matt Chapman in 2014, A.J. Puk in 2016, Tyler Soderstrom in 2020 and Max Muncy in 2021. And this year, we were eager to get his insights on #1 pick Daniel Susac as well as some of the A’s other top picks from the 2022 draft.
Now in his 21st season as the A’s scouting director, Kubota was kind enough to take the time to speak with us a couple of weeks after the draft to offer his insights on the newest crop of A’s prospects. You can listen to our complete conversation on A’s Cast.
AF: So, obviously, we want to talk to you today about some of your top picks from this year’s draft. But before that, I did want to just start out by asking you about two of your most recent first-round picks. And those are Tyler Soderstrom, who was your first-round pick in 2020, and then shortstop Max Muncy, who was your first-round pick just last year. They were both high school picks who have gotten off to great starts in their pro careers. Muncy is just 19 years old still, got off to a great start at Stockton and is now doing well at High-A Lansing as a teenager. And Soderstrom was just promoted to Double-A Midland, and he’s still just 20. So, can you just talk a little bit about what you guys saw when you were first scouting those guys and what you feel about their development since they’ve entered the pro game?
EK: Yeah, I think, in both their cases, they were pretty advanced high school players. There was upside to their games. Tyler, we had a really strong feeling about his bat, which is obviously his calling card. We think there’s solid defense there, but we definitely had a strong feeling about his bat and the upside there. Certainly, where he’s gotten to in his short career has validated our feelings so far, but we think there’s so much left to Tyler as he continues to mature as a player. As far as Max, it was similar in that he had some polish to his game. I think what surprised us with Max is just how good of an athlete, how dynamic of an athlete, he is. We test across the minor league system on just pure athleticism, and Max is way up there in those rankings, which surprised us a little bit. But I think the slugging and the power’s been his calling card thus far offensively this year. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say that surprised us a little bit. We thought he’d have power. But I do think it reflects his athleticism and his strength and the work he has put in to continue to get stronger over the last year.
AF: So, let’s talk about this year’s draft. Your first-round pick this year was the catcher Daniel Susac out of Arizona. He’s a big power-hitting catcher with a strong arm. And I think a lot of people expected him to not be available by the time you guys had a chance to pick. So, can you tell me what made you so eager to take him with your first-round pick this year?
EK: Yeah, I think we were with a lot of those people that you mentioned about him, not thinking he was going to get to us. So, we were certainly pleasantly surprised when he did. Another quick tidbit on Daniel is he and Tyler [Soderstrom] basically grew up playing together. They’re both from the Central Valley. They’re the same age, same year in school. But yeah, I think what you mentioned, we see upside both in the defense and the offense for Daniel. He’s only had two years. He was an age-eligible sophomore, only two years really of college experience. And we think there’s a chance for a plus defender. We really like the bat, and we definitely like the power potential. We really think it’s a chance for an all-around package behind the plate.
AF: I know he’s a big guy. I think he’s 6’4”. So, he’s obviously got some strength there. I think he started out as a switch-hitter but then he’s mainly been hitting right-handed. Do you look at him as a switch-hitter or a right-handed hitter going forward?
EK: It’s funny you say that. In high school, he definitely would have ABs where he would hit left-handed. But I think primarily he’s been a right-handed hitter for at least the last year. So, we certainly see him as a right-handed hitter. We’ll see if he breaks out this left-handed swing at any point in the near future but, for now, we certainly see him as a right-handed hitter.
AF: He seems like a pretty advanced player who could maybe step in at a higher level, maybe at Lansing. Do you feel he’s pretty well advanced at this stage of the game anyway?
EK: Well, to a certain degree. Obviously…the fact that he’s basically been around his brother [Andrew Susac], who caught with the Giants in the big leagues. So, he’s a step ahead…because of what his brother went through. But I think we feel like the schedule takes care of itself, and they move when they’re supposed to move. So, we’ll see where he starts. What’s important to us is where he ends up and that, when he ends up there, it’s the right time to be there.
AF: Yeah, certainly those baseball bloodlines help, just having that experience close to you from someone who’s played in the major league game. Do you have a comp for him?
EK: I have one funny one. Because a couple of our guys, well, both Billy Beane and then Chris Pittaro played with Bob Melvin in the minor leagues, and they both mentioned how, physically and defensively, Daniel reminds them of Bob Melvin. And then a couple of our scouts mentioned Tyler Stephenson for a more modern name.
AF: I love Bob Melvin, but I will say I hope he turns out to be a bit of a better hitter than Bob Melvin anyway.
EK: Yeah, but Bob was a big leaguer, so that’s a good thing.
AF: With your second-round pick, you took the high school outfielder Henry Bolte out of Palo Alto. He seems like he’s a big high school kid with big power and plenty of speed. But obviously he’s a very raw talent at this point. So, tell me a little bit about what you see out of Henry Bolte.
EK: Certainly, what you mentioned. There’s a ton of upside to Henry’s game. He’s super athletic. He can really run, and the raw power is really off the charts. It’s incredible raw power. He displays it in batting practice and in games. I wouldn’t necessarily call him really raw. I just think there’s development needed to tap into all of it. When you watch him play, the basic swing and all the mechanics actually have some polish to it. It’s just approach-related and trying to figure out which pitches to try and damage, and pitch selection, and things like that – all things that we think will develop with experience in the minor leagues.
AF: I know he is a big guy, but because of his speed, do you see him having the potential to stick in center field?
EK: We definitely do. He’s tall, but I would call him more rangy than big. He’s tall, I wouldn’t say exactly lean. He’s not wide, I guess is the best way to put it. So, we definitely see him as a center fielder long term. Obviously, we have others in the organization, so all of that shakes itself out. But he certainly has the athleticism, we believe, to stay in center field.
AF: And did you have a comp to offer on him?
EK: Another guy from the South Bay, Mitch Haniger, to a certain degree. That was one that one of our scouts brought up. I think we’ve had this discussion before, all my comps are from my childhood, like in the ‘70s, so I had a little bit of Dale Murphy on my mind.
AF: Well, if anyone remembers Dale Murphy, and I do, we’ll definitely take Dale Murphy any day of the week! So, after the second round, you had a competitive balance pick, and you went with the outfielder Clark Elliott out of Michigan. It seems like he’s a good, solid college bat who’s got some speed. And I know this past season, he started showing some power where he really hadn’t shown much power before. So, I’m curious to see if you think that power is likely to develop and be part of his game and what you like about Clark Elliott.
EK: First and foremost, he’s a hitter. We really, really like the hitter. We think he was one of the better hitters in college baseball this year. Like you said, the power did show itself a little this spring. And I think we’ve always been of the belief that the good hitters come into their power. The ability to center the baseball up translates to power once you learn trajectories and things like that. And I think we feel like Clark has that ability to make power definitely a part of his game, which it was at Michigan this year. So, I wouldn’t say that that would be anything new. But first and foremost, we really love the bat.
AF: Yeah, he certainly seems to be a guy who can put the bat on the ball pretty consistently, which is always good to see. Did you have a comp for Clark Elliott?
EK: Michael Brantley. Comparing him to one of the best hitters in baseball is definitely, I guess, optimistic on my part to a certain degree. But their games have a lot of similarities.
AF: I know Elliott’s played a lot of right field in college, but do you see him having center field potential with the speed he’s got?
EK: We definitely think he has the athleticism to do it. He’d been primarily an infielder throughout his baseball career. So, he’s just getting his feet wet in the outfield. And we do think he has the athleticism to also play center field.
AF: In the third round, you took another outfielder, Colby Thomas out of Mercer. And he seems like a pretty solid power-hitting outfielder. I know he had a shoulder injury, and I think he’s expected not to play the rest of this season. But tell me a little bit about what you like about Colby Thomas.
EK: Yeah, I think, like you mentioned, power is Colby’s calling card. He’s a really good athlete. He can really run and throw but, really, what sets him apart in our eyes is the power potential. His exit velos were elite. The information, the data that we had, this is one of those guys where really our analytics team and our scouts came together on a guy that was maybe not as highly thought of throughout the industry, and that’s why he went where he went in the draft. But we really liked the upside with the power with Colby.
AF: So, there were no Moneyball draft table arguments over Colby Thomas then?
EK: There’s always draft table arguments – that happens all the time – that’s the nature of what we do.
AF: Do you have any comps to offer on Colby Thomas?
EK: I thought a little bit of Randal Grichuk, an athletic right-handed hitter with power.
AF: In the fourth round, you took your first pitcher of this year’s draft, and that was right-hander Jacob Watters out of West Virginia. It seems like he’s a strong power arm, but maybe has some command issues, but certainly has the stuff. But tell me what made you want to make him your first pitcher picked in this year’s draft.
EK: Yeah, I think the thing that jumps out at you with Jacob is the physicality and his stuff. It’s a guy who’s touched 100 [mph] out of the bullpen. We do think there’s a plus breaking ball in there. We just think there’s a lot of upside physically. You hear it bantered about a lot, but we just feel like it’s a big-arm talent to put into the system and just see what [minor league pitching coordinator] Gil Patterson and his staff can do with him.
AF: Do you foresee him more as a starter or as a reliever? Do you have any projection on that at this point?
EK: We think he has the pitches to start. I think experience and time will determine where he ends up landing. We just think that he is a physical guy with quality pitches, and we’ll just see where that leads him in his pro career.
AF: And did you have a comp to offer on a Jacob Watters?
EK: He reminded me a little bit of Brandon Woodruff coming out of college, just the same kind of profile, maybe not as much success collegiately, but a guy with a ton of upside who could come on in professional baseball.
AF: In the fifth round, you took another pitcher after Watters. You took another right-hander, Jack Perkins out of Indiana. And it seems like he has a similar profile – another power arm, maybe has some command issues that need to be worked on. But tell me what you liked about right-hander Jack Perkins.
EK: Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head a little bit. There are a lot of similarities between he and Watters, just physicality with really, really good stuff. He’s a guy we liked last year, and he had even really less success last year. Moving to Indiana, moving into the Friday night starter’s role, I think he grew into that, and he showed the kind of improvement we were hoping for. And to us, it’s the tip of the iceberg. But first and foremost, he’s a big kid with two really good pitches.
AF: A lot of people have been saying that the A’s, in the last few years, have been focusing on hitters in the first few rounds and then not really focusing on pitchers till the fourth, fifth rounds and later on due to the fact that pitchers are just harder to project and that you’re really better off placing your bets on pitchers not too high in those first few rounds. Is there any validity to that assessment? Is that anything that goes into your thinking at all?
EK: It hasn’t. I will say that there’s been a ton of pitchers that we have liked in the early rounds that, for one reason or another, haven’t been there when we picked. Maybe we’re shooting a little high on the pitchers we like in those spots, but there’s definitely pitchers we like. It’s not a conscious thought. I will say, the more I do this, and I’ve been doing it for a long, long time, when I see guys like Ken Waldichuk from right out of our backyard, who ends up being a big part of a big major league trade, I just continue to realize how hard it is to project and to scout pitching. So, we’re always trying to improve on that and always trying to get better, just like the 29 other teams. And it’s definitely not intentional. It’s just the way the draft has fallen. I say that every year, and I know people don’t believe me, but it’s the truth.
AF: Yeah, I think everyone does want to read a certain overriding philosophy into things. And I think from your point of view, it’s often just, “Hey, we’re just looking for the best guys we can find.” Right?
EK: Yeah. Generally, if you want to know what our philosophy is, it’s to take who we think is the best guy that was available when it was our turn to pick.
AF: Right, let’s not overthink this here. So back to the draft, sixth round, you took Brennan Milone out of Oregon, and he seems like a pretty solid college bat. I know he was listed as a third baseman, but he seems like a guy who maybe there’s some question about what his ultimate position might be.
EK: Right. Brennan’s a guy that we scouted heavily in high school. Our scout in Atlanta, Jemel Spearman, liked Brennan a lot out of high school. So, we did a lot of work on Brennan out of high school. We weren’t able to match up with what it was going to take to sign him out of South Carolina at the time. I think his bat has developed. It was a winding route to get there a little bit. But I think the bat that he showed at Oregon this year is the bat that we had expected to see. And we thought he has the ability to stay on the dirt and play second base or third base in the major leagues. I think we’ll give him every opportunity to do that. But we think, worst case scenario, he’s somebody who could maybe go to first base or the outfield and do a fine job.
AF: In the seventh round, you took the high school kid, Yeniel Laboy out of Puerto Rico. Just a teenager, he seems like another guy similar to Milone, a guy with a pretty solid bat but maybe there’s a question of where he ultimately ends up position-wise as well.
EK: I think, with a lot of young players, that’s probably the case. Just about everybody that we scout in high school is a shortstop or a center fielder or maybe a catcher, so most of them are moving somewhere. But in his case, he’s another guy that we have very good exit velo data. We think there’s a lot of power upside to him. And where he lands defensively, time will tell.
AF: I would imagine that exit velo data is factoring more and more into your scouting assessments than it did maybe a decade ago.
EK: Certainly, yeah, a decade ago, I might have said, “What are you talking about?” – or maybe two decades ago. But anyway, as more and more information becomes available, anything we can do to make a more informed decision, we’re trying to use it. So, it certainly helps.
AF: We probably can’t even anticipate what you’ll be factoring in ten years from now…So, in the eighth round, you went back and took another pitcher, right-hander Micah Dallas out of Texas A&M. And it seems like he might be the opposite of Watters and Perkins. He seems like he’s more of a polished pitcher – maybe not that big of stuff, but a guy who knows how to pitch anyway.
EK: Yeah, that’s exactly right. That’s exactly what I had thought in my mind. He’s definitely a much more polished pitcher. And it’s not mundane stuff – it’s still solid stuff across the board. It’s just not huge stuff, but a guy who really knows how to use what he has. Pitched well at Texas A&M this year and has had a lot of SEC experience, so certainly an experienced guy with the ability to get outs.
AF: In the ninth round, you went back and took another outfielder, Caeden Trenkle out of Oklahoma State. He’s got a lot of speed, seems like a big on-base guy, profiles more as a top-of-the-order hitter, but not a guy with a lot of power. But tell me what you liked about Caeden Trenkle.
EK: Yeah, it’s funny you say that because I saw him in Arizona hit at least one home run against Arizona State. But yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head again. He’s a guy with the athleticism and instincts to be a plus defender in center field, which has a lot of value in and of itself, and he has shown the ability to get on base. So those are two qualities that we certainly value.
AF: Now, if I’m correct, you haven’t signed your tenth and eleventh round picks. Your eleventh round pick was left-hander Christian Oppor, who was a high school pitcher. And it’s certainly understandable if he is a high school kid and decides he wants to go to college, that’s perfectly understandable. Your tenth-round pick was second basement Brock Rodden out of Wichita State. Looks like a good solid power hitting second baseman, but he’s a college guy, seems like the kind of guy who would probably be perfectly eager to sign, so tell me what the situation is with Brock Rodden.
EK: I think our thought was exactly what you said but, at the end of the day, he had a difference of opinion, and we respect him for that. And he’s going to take his chances to try and improve his draft status next year.
AF: So, before we wrap up…I wanted to ask you about another guy from last year’s draft who looks to me like the steal of last year’s draft – and that was your fourth-round pick, outfielder Denzel Clarke. He’s gotten off to such a great start in his first full season of pro ball. He’s been hitting so well, first at Stockton and now at Lansing. He looks like a really promising talent, and it just looks like you guys really identified a good one and made a really strong pick there in the fourth round last year with Denzel Clarke.
EK: Yeah, it’s nice when they go out and make you look kind of smart every now and then, but it’s a long ways to go. But Denzel, first and foremost, is just a great person. Anybody who’s met him roots for him. And if you see him physically, he is everything you’d want to see in a center field athlete. He’s so physical and, I think more than anything, we’re all really happy for the success he’s finding. We always felt like it was experience that he needed as much as anything. And for him to go to the Futures Game was just a testament to the hard work he’s put in. It made a lot of people happy here in Oakland.
AF: Yeah, he’s certainly one of those guys who obviously had the raw tools. He’s got the power, he’s got the speed. There was always a question of him just putting it together, but it seems like he figured a lot out pretty quickly anyway and made everybody’s job a little easier.
EK: So far, but he’s still got a ways to go, but we’re certainly happy that he’s gone out and done well and wish nothing but the best for him.
AF: Well, thank you so much for taking the time out to talk with us today about this year’s draft…Hopefully there’s another Tyler Soderstrom or Max Muncy or Denzel Clarke in there that we can talk about again next year.
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